Go hiontach ar fad: Irish website domains to get fadas

Ahead of St Patrick’s Day, the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) has announced that, later this year, Irish websites will be able to add fadas to their domain names.

Domains are much more than just English text these days, having undergone major transformations to bring in multiple languages to cater for all, and they will now feature some humble fadas.

According to the IEDR, Irish businesses will be able to register .ie domain names that include fadas later this year, so domains with á, é, í, ó and ú will begin appearing in your address bar.

The IEDR says it is currently in the middle of a public consultation process and is looking to hear from interested parties before the 30-day process ends on 21 March.

Once this process has finished, it’s hoped that a date for when fadas will officially be introduced will be selected.

Showcasing Irish globally

David Curtin, chief executive of the IEDR, said of this introduction: “This is the week we celebrate our national holiday and our sense of and pride in being Irish. Our language is a key part of that identity and something which distinguishes us from every other country.

“In the week of Seachtain na Gaeilge also, making fada .ie domain names available will now provide a further opportunity for us to showcase that identity to a global online community.”

Those looking to spruce up their domains with a bit of Irish can find further information on the IEDR website.